Home Made Popcorn + Chocolate

We all love a cheeky snack don't we?  Sometimes it doesn't have to be a naughty snack,  but it can be a healthy one with a little something naughty added to it.  I love chocolate, especially dark chocolate and I also love popcorn.  Oh yes chocolate and popcorn two of my favourite treats yum yum.

To me popcorn isn't too bad, trust me there are worse things you can eat.... I could name plenty if you'd let me.  Anyway... I am a sucker for salty popcorn goodness.  It is seriously addicting.  Instead of buying a packet of ready made popcorn I opted to make my own.  It was a little more time  consuming but we'll worth it and fun!

To make this all you need is... 

* A large sauce pan and a lid for it. 

* One TBS of cooking oil (you can use anything - except olive) 

* A bag of kernels

* Some salt (optional) 

* Chocolate of your choice - I used dark :-)

* Another pan, hot water, a heat proof bowl plus a wooden spoon (this will be your banmarie)

* A large baking tray

How to make it is easy.

In your pan,  place your TBS of oil and add about 1/2 cup of the kernels (more if you desire).  Make sure the kernels get a light coating of oil. Then pop on your lid.. Cook it on a medium heat.

You'll soon hear popping.  Every now again pick the pan up,  holding down the lid and give it a shake and replace back on the heat.   The is no 'ready' time just until the is no more popping or the popcorn is busting out of the pan... You can always lift the lid to see.. but be careful.

Take off heat and leave for a few minutes. Then lift the lid and sprinkle on your salt.  Replace the lid and shake.   You can now eat it if you want but I'm covering mine in chocolate.

Melt your chocolate in a banmarie,  whilst it's melting place your popcorn on a baking sheet as flat as possible.  Once the chocolate had melted you can you use a fork to dribble on your chocolate.  Once your happy with the way it looks... Leave it to cool.

You're done..... now eat!!!!

Ax

Getting Crafty #Crochet

I love to be creative and make things.  I think there is nothing more satisfying than building something with your bare hands....  Be it cakes,  a crochet snood or doing a DIY on some old jars with glitter. More on the latter later on.  In the above picture I was  making a snood for my mum.  It looks a jumbled mess but trust me the end result was lovely. 

I have gradually built up  collection of yarns, hooks and books.  These are some of favourite books and they are great,  but I personally think YouTube is the best place to see crochet at work.  There is only so much a book can show. 

When it comes to crochet I love that I can make something useful.  I can see it and it doesn't take forever to see a result.   I find it spurs me on to work faster.   The snood I'm wearing below is something I knocked up in two days. 

I made it with the help of Simply Hooked YouTubes channel (link HERE) and the cowl snood video is HERE.   Anyone can make this as her instructions are clear and easy for a complete novice to understand.  I did it... so you can.  You just need a ball or yarn,  a large hook and YouTube!!  The snood I'm wearing and my mum's one are the same stitch. Once you get a stitch in your head,  you just want to keep doing it over and over to perfect it!! 

I think my next project will a a granny square blanket of some sort.   Fun times a head. 

Ax

Short Bread Biscuits

Short Bread Biscuits are my ultimate favourite biscuit treat, closely followed by biscotti.  I did some baking for work to raise a bit  a cash for comic relief.  These are yummy and very easy to make and everyone seems to love them.

What you need....

250g/8oz butter (which is softened at room temp)
180g/12oz Plain Flour
110g/4oz Caster Sugar

You could throw in chocolate chips if you wish to make them even more yummy. A little FYI,  you'll need extra flour and sugar for later on.  You need to preheat your oven to gas mark 5/190 (mine is a fan oven).

In a big bowl cream together your butter and sugar.  Wooden spoon,  hands or hand mixer work well.

Once creamed together add your flour a small amount at a time.  Using your hands to mix works best due to the warmth of them.  Keep adding until you've added it all. By now you should have a dough formed.

On a clean flat service,  dust with a little flour and with a rolling pin.... Get rolling. You want the dough to be between 0.5 to 1cm thick or they will crumble when cooked.

With cookie cutters or a just a knife,  create your shapes.  Place them on a lined oven tray with good spacing between them.  Decorate with a folk if you wish and sprinkle on a little caster sugar. Then pop in the oven for 13 minutes.

Take them out and let them cool before munching on them.  I'm tempted to make these again and half dip them in chocolate hmmm!!!

Side note.... I know these are not very healthy but I find baking therapeutic :-) Enjoy x

Ax